As conventional technology with respect to soft capsules which, contain gelatin as a component of an encapsulating shell, or production methods thereof, for example, the following patent documents 1 to 5 are known.
Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-89362
Patent document 2; Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H10-273436
Patent document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-161306
Patent document 4; Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-136127
Patent document 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H11-266804
Patent document 1 (Film-Covered Granular Substance and Production Method Thereof. SANSEI-IYAKU Co., Ltd.) discloses reduction, of adherance of capsules to each other by precipitating saccharides, such as axylitol contained in the gelatin shell. In Example 1, a method for producing a soft capsule by molding a solution of a packing material which contains gelatin into the shape of a capsule, while filling it with a filling, and solidifying it, and thereafter drying it with rotating, is disclosed.
Patent document 2 (Chewable Soft Capsule, TOKAI CAPSULE Co., Ltd.) discloses blending a plasticizer into a gelatin shell to soften it and blending a crystalline cellulose into reduce adhering of capsules to each other.
Patent document 3 (Process for Producing Gelatin Capsule which Excels in Palatability, EZAKI GLYCO Co., Ltd.) discloses giving a good flavor to a soft capsule by blending an emulsified flavour highly efficiently into a gelatin shell.
Patent document 4 (Rapidly Soluble Soft Capsule, SANSEI-IYAKU Co., Ltd.) discloses a soft capsule having a 15% to 80% of water content in the soft encapsulating shell, and 10% to 70% of soft encapsulating shell mass to total mass of the soft capsule, the soft encapsulating shell of which dissolves very rapidly.
Patent document 5 (Royal Jelly Oily Suspension and Rroyal Jelly Capsule, SANSEI-IYAKU Co., Ltd.) discloses a royal jelly oily suspension in which discoloration is controlled, and a royal jelly soft capsule which is filled with 450 mg of the royal jelly oily suspension as filling and sealed.
Moreover, the following patent document 6 (Hyperlithuria-Disease-Prophylactic Remedy, MORINAGA MILK INDUSTRY Co., Ltd.) discloses a hyperlithuria-disease-prophylactic remedy which contains a substance having 20 carbon, atoms or a derivative thereof, and a mono unsaturated fatty acid having 22 carbon atoms or a derivative thereof as an active ingredient. An encapsulated formulation is illustrated as an example of a dosing form.
Patent document 6: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-278786
In order to produce a chew able capsule which is chewed to be eaten, it is necessary that the shell of the capsule be soft so that it can be crunched, and that the capsule be large so that it cannot be swallowed wholly. In addition, it is also important that the content be plentiful and palatable upon being eaten.
However, it is difficult to produce a capsule having such a form, and this goal has not yet been realized. For example, in a conventional soft capsule, it has been difficult to mold a capsule to be relatively large so that it cannot be swallowed, while maintaining physical properties such as hardness, etc., so that it can be crunched. Moreover, if the quantity of the content is increased, then it is likely to cause a self-weight deformation or a self-weight disintegration during production.
The present invention is made under these circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a capsule which is suitable for chewing to be eaten, and a process for producing such a capsule.